Wisdom, hope, and tranquility are just a few beliefs associated with turquoise, also known as Skystone, which gets the name from Native American lore.
The story passed along shares that the people rejoiced and danced when the rains they prayed for came. The tears of joy with the rain that was prayed for, fell to the ground and within Mother Earth those tears became Skystone turquoise.
Turquoise is an opaque mineral that occurs in beautiful shades of blue, bluish green, green, and yellowish green. Very few minerals have a color that is so well known, so characteristic, and so impressive that the name of the mineral becomes so commonly used. In North America, the earliest known use of turquoise was in the Chaco Canyon area of New Mexico, where the gem was used over 2000 years ago. Turquoise production in the United States is located in the arid southwest, which is an ideal environment for turquoise. The mineral is generally found at higher elevations.
Rough turquoise and turquoise objects are held in high regard by Native Americans and were traded widely throughout the centuries. These early Native American jewelry designs were simple, and the turquoise was not set in metal findings.
Fast forward to the 1880’s and Navajo silver smiths began setting turquoise stones in their pieces, other tribes such as the Zuni followed with their creative inlay styles. For Native Americans, turquoise symbolizes the sky and water and is associated with healing, protection, truth, and courage.
